Published: Monday, February 17, 2014 at 11:19 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, February 17, 2014 at 11:19 p.m.

Beef and coffee. Ultimately, the fate of two Wilmington chefs would come down to their handling of those secret ingredients in the championship round of the Fire on the Dock cooking competition Monday night. "It's better than sea trout and strawberries," 1900 Restaurant & Lounge chef Kirsten Mitchell could be heard declaring over the din of a bustling kitchen, having used the latter in her previous tournament victory.

Facts

Previous final rounds

2014 marks the first time a Wilmington chef has cooked in the Fire on the Dock final round.2013 finalists: Clarke Merrell of Circa 81 in Morehead City vs. Gerry Fong of Persimmons in New Bern. Winner: Fong2012 finalists: Andy Hopper of Chefs 105 in Morehead City vs. Gerry Fong of Persimmons in New Bern. Winner: Hopper

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For the largest meal yet served in the competition, an extra 50 seats were sold for the event, bringing the total crowd to 170 packed into the scenic Bluewater Waterfront Grill at Wrightsville Beach. Competition Dining Series spokesperson Kristen Baughman said veteran competing chefs Mitchell and Antoine Murray of the Cape Fear Country Club were each allowed to add a member to their four-person team to handle the hungry audience. "They're old pros, they just got right to work," she said of the talented cooks shrugging off the added layer of challenge.

Organizer Jimmy Crippen was a dark-jacketed blur racing around the dining room in the moments before the first plates went out. For the most part, he said, the contest ran smoothly, although icy weather did cause the rescheduling of one night. With such a full house for the final evening, he was glad to have seasoned talent in the kitchens preparing six courses of fine dining plates for customers. "I'm really glad that it's Antoine and Kirsten," he said. "They've both been doing this for three years, and really have it dialed in."

A heated environment under normal circumstances, the kitchen was boiling over with activity as Mitchell chopped fistfuls of green onions and Murray sliced pork belly into tidy cubes. Both cooks have made deep runs through the brackets in past years, and they shared an icy focus on the task, knowing full well the level of focus required to win. "It doesn't get any easier, that's for sure," said Mitchell. "The expectations just get higher."

Among the first diners to take a seat, Murray's wife, Latasha, daughter Trinity and son Antoine Jr. were eager to get a taste of his cooking. At home, Latasha handles feeding the family, the kids favoring her shrimp Alfredo. Not often getting a chance to sample his creations, Murray worried about correctly guessing her husband's handiwork. "Sometimes I'm able to guess one out of three, two if I'm lucky," she said of previous meals.

While victories are decided by a weighted score of professional judges and those in the dining room at large who vote on each presentation via cellphone app, one person has garnered a unique perspective. Veronica Berkes has served as the dishwasher for this year's contest, and after scraping literally thousands of plates, knows better than most what was a hit or miss. "They like the desserts and cheesy grits," she said, assessing Mitchell's opening shot of beef ramen with daikon radish and a poached egg as a winner.

Murray countered with a cocoa and coffee rubbed rib eye paired with a petit crab cake and risotto. One table of diners, tapping away at their mobile devices, gave it unanimous thumbs up.

The back and forth continued through the evening, but the laurels were ultimately bestowed upon chef Antoine Murray in the form of a distinctive red chef's coat, $2,000 in prize money and a shot at statewide fame advancing to the Final Fire to be held later this year. "I have a lot of people supporting me – the family and the club," he said. "It feels really good to finally bring this home."

<p>Beef and coffee. Ultimately, the fate of two Wilmington chefs would come down to their handling of those secret ingredients in the championship round of the Fire on the Dock cooking competition Monday night. "It's better than sea trout and strawberries," 1900 Restaurant & Lounge chef Kirsten Mitchell could be heard declaring over the din of a bustling kitchen, having used the latter in her previous tournament victory.</p><p>For the largest meal yet served in the competition, an extra 50 seats were sold for the event, bringing the total crowd to 170 packed into the scenic Bluewater Waterfront Grill at Wrightsville Beach. Competition Dining Series spokesperson Kristen Baughman said veteran competing chefs Mitchell and Antoine Murray of the Cape Fear Country Club were each allowed to add a member to their four-person team to handle the hungry audience. "They're old pros, they just got right to work," she said of the talented cooks shrugging off the added layer of challenge.</p><p>Organizer Jimmy Crippen was a dark-jacketed blur racing around the dining room in the moments before the first plates went out. For the most part, he said, the contest ran smoothly, although icy weather did cause the rescheduling of one night. With such a full house for the final evening, he was glad to have seasoned talent in the kitchens preparing six courses of fine dining plates for customers. "I'm really glad that it's Antoine and Kirsten," he said. "They've both been doing this for three years, and really have it dialed in."</p><p>A heated environment under normal circumstances, the kitchen was boiling over with activity as Mitchell chopped fistfuls of green onions and Murray sliced pork belly into tidy cubes. Both cooks have made deep runs through the brackets in past years, and they shared an icy focus on the task, knowing full well the level of focus required to win. "It doesn't get any easier, that's for sure," said Mitchell. "The expectations just get higher."</p><p>Among the first diners to take a seat, Murray's wife, Latasha, daughter Trinity and son Antoine Jr. were eager to get a taste of his cooking. At home, Latasha handles feeding the family, the kids favoring her shrimp Alfredo. Not often getting a chance to sample his creations, Murray worried about correctly guessing her husband's handiwork. "Sometimes I'm able to guess one out of three, two if I'm lucky," she said of previous meals.</p><p>While victories are decided by a weighted score of professional judges and those in the dining room at large who vote on each presentation via cellphone app, one person has garnered a unique perspective. Veronica Berkes has served as the dishwasher for this year's contest, and after scraping literally thousands of plates, knows better than most what was a hit or miss. "They like the desserts and cheesy grits," she said, assessing Mitchell's opening shot of beef ramen with daikon radish and a poached egg as a winner.</p><p>Murray countered with a cocoa and coffee rubbed rib eye paired with a petit crab cake and risotto. One table of diners, tapping away at their mobile devices, gave it unanimous thumbs up.</p><p>The back and forth continued through the evening, but the laurels were ultimately bestowed upon chef Antoine Murray in the form of a distinctive red chef's coat, $2,000 in prize money and a shot at statewide fame advancing to the Final Fire to be held later this year. "I have a lot of people supporting me – the family and the club," he said. "It feels really good to finally bring this home."</p><p><i></p><p><a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9919"><b>Paul Stephen</b></a>: 343-2041</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @PortCityFoodies</i></p>